The new global arms race will lead to catastrophe. The west can pursue it – or choose peace

In the autumn of 1914 a frantic race to build weapons and decouple economies was under way among the countries of Europe. As the war cry on both sides intensified, a young Albert Einstein, together with the astronomer Wilhelm Foerster, physiologist Georg Friedrich Nicolai and philosopher Otto Buek, signed a Manifesto to the Europeans, inviting scholars and artists, "those of whom one should expect such convictions", to speak against the escalation, think in terms of a common culture, transcend nationalist passions and call for a "union of Europeans" to prevent Europe from perishing in a "fratricidal war". Few listened. Europe…